Shooting motion in high school,collegiate, and professional men’s lacrosse players

The purposes of this research were to quantify the kinematics of the lacrosse shot, based on arm dominance and player experience level. Male players (N = 39; 14–30 years; high school [n = 24], collegiate [n = 9], professional [n = 6]), performed overhead shots using dominant and non-dominant sides. Motion was captured using a high-speed, 12-camera optical system and high-speed filming. Body segment rotational velocities and joint angles were determined at key points in the shot cycle from foot contact (0% of shot) to ball release (100% of shot). All players shot with less anterior trunk lean, less transverse shoulder rotation, and slower trunk-shoulder rotational velocities with the non-dominant side than the dominant side (all p < 0.05). Professional players produced crosse angular velocities 21% faster than high school or collegiate players (p < 0.05). Transverse shoulder rotation range of motion on both dominant and non-dominant and trunk rotation sides was highest in the professional players (p < 0.05). These kinematic features enable professional players to produce faster ball speeds than younger players (138 ± 7 km/h vs. 112 ± 15 km/h, respectively; p < 0.05). Less anterior lean or suboptimal rotation sequence could increase proximal shoulder forces that could contribute to injury as in other throwing sports.     

Operation ARA: A computerized learning game that teaches critical thinking and scientific reasoning

Operation ARA (Acquiring Research Acumen) is a computerized learning game that teaches critical thinking and scientific reasoning. It is a valuable learning tool that utilizes principles from the science of learning and serious computer games. Students learn the skills of scientific reasoning by engaging in interactive dialogs with avatars. They are tutored by avatars with tutoring sessions that vary depending on how well students have responded to questions about the material they are learning. Students also play a jeopardy-like game against a feisty avatar to identify flaws in research and then generate their own questions to determine the quality of different types of research. The research examples are taken from psychology, biology, and chemistry to help students transfer the thinking skills across domains of knowledge. Early results show encouraging learning gains.     

Using targeted active-learning exercises and diagnostic question clusters to improve students' understanding of carbon cycling in ecosystems

In this study, we used targeted active-learning activities to help students improve their ways of reasoning about carbon flow in ecosystems. The results of a validated ecology conceptual inventory (diagnostic question clusters [DQCs]) provided us with information about students' understanding of and reasoning about transformation of inorganic and organic carbon-containing compounds in biological systems. These results helped us identify specific active-learning exercises that would be responsive to students' existing knowledge. The effects of the active-learning interventions were then examined through analysis of students' pre- and postinstruction responses on the DQCs. The biology and non-biology majors participating in this study attended a range of institutions and the instructors varied in their use of active learning; one lecture-only comparison class was included. Changes in pre- to postinstruction scores on the DQCs showed that an instructor's teaching method had a highly significant effect on student reasoning following course instruction, especially for questions pertaining to cellular-level, carbon-transforming processes. We conclude that using targeted in-class activities had a beneficial effect on student learning regardless of major or class size, and argue that using diagnostic questions to identify effective learning activities is a valuable strategy for promoting learning, as gains from lecture-only classes were minimal.     

European Approaches to Widening Participation in Higher Education: A Commentary in Light of the Role of the Society for Research into Higher Education

This article derives its arguments from case studies reflecting the situations of Estonia, Bulgaria, and the United Kingdom, the access and equity agenda in each country being viewed in the light of its own social concerns and financial priorities. Local institutions, in their turn, reinterpret the agendas of their respective countries in the light of their own missions and objectives. The role of the Society for Research into Higher Education is shown to be of importance, along with that of other NGOs, in ensuring that the cross‐fertilization of ideas and approaches takes place as effectively and as efficiently as possible.     

Graduate pathways: A longitudinal study of graduates in outdoor studies in the U.K.

A longitudinal study provides a more detailed analysis of the career pathways of graduates than the First Destination Survey can achieve. This survey of 41% of graduates from a BSc (Honours) Outdoor Studies degree also examines the importance of named skills to their careers and the success of the degree in developing each skill. Two thirds of graduates surveyed were in careers related to Outdoor Studies and there is an increasing relevance of employment activity to degree and work satisfaction with time in the workplace. However, there is no trend towards increasing graduate level employment in the workplace with indications that the majority of Outdoor Studies graduates seem to make choices based on interest, values or work satisfaction rather than salary or status, beyond a baseline of earnings (which contributes to a low unemployment rate). Personal and process skills, often poorly developed in other degree programmes, are developed successfully within the Outdoor Studies degree and applied in the workplace. It is suggested that suitably qualified Outdoor Studies graduates are able to find employment in the outdoor industry but that this will need monitoring in the future. The need for, and the development of, outdoor technical skills may be illustrative of a circular argument but graduates report the need for further National Governing Body award opportunities and professional experience at undergraduate level.